<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Best of You by hufflepurls</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760545">Best of You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hufflepurls/pseuds/hufflepurls'>hufflepurls</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Generation Kill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>alternative universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:08:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,884</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25760545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hufflepurls/pseuds/hufflepurls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nate is on a mission that has already been completed.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brad Colbert/Nate Fick</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>37</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Best of You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaPockets/gifts">AlphaPockets</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is for my beloved AlphaPockets. For all of the support and encouragement to get me going again. It means the world to me.</p>
<p>Unbeta-ed, all mistakes are my own.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was hidden somewhere in the attic. </p>
<p>It had to be.  Nate had searched the entire house up to that point and there was no other logical place that book could be.  It wasn't even like he <i>needed</i> that book for anything in particular.  The book in question had simply vaguely pinged in his thought process this morning as he drank his coffee.  But now after searching for the better part of two hours he was on a mission now to find it.  He couldn't even remember why he wanted to find it in the first place, just that he needed to out of principal.  There was a small thought in the back of his head that his roommates might be a little ticked when they got home and saw the path of destruction.  Especially, considering that Ray was still back home visiting and wasn't due back for a few days yet.  It'd be fine though, with Ray and Mike visiting their respective families and Brad on his way on weekend road trip with Poke and Eric, he'd have plenty of time to pick up after himself.</p>
<p>Maybe it said more about Nate's lack of an ability to unwind more than anything else.  After probably his roughest semester to date, his brain seemed incapable of just slowing down. Of letting go of that feeling that there was something else he needed to be doing hanging on in the back of his head. Despite the fact that he knew that there was nothing he actually needed to be doing other than basic functions to keep him alive and hygienic.  Logically, he figured this would fade eventually, it usually did, but it just seemed to hang on right now.  Maybe it had something to do with taking one too many classes, against the recommendation of his adviser, figuring he could handle it and still graduate on time. He'd added on a second major a little late in the game, but with his scholarship money running out at the end of four years, if Nate hadn't taken the extra courses, he would be saddled with an extra semesters worth of debt.  He'd done the math, there was no way that he was going to get into that much debt out of college. No matter how good of a job he landed himself.  Nate had plans, and damnit if he wasn't going to get what he wanted.</p>
<p>Okay, maybe he had some control issues as well.  But that wasn't the point right now. The point was he needed to find that stupid Greek Mythology book he'd been thinking about this morning.  When he and his three roommates had moved into the house they'd shoved a bunch of boxes up here just to get them out of the way while they settled in.  Well, while Nate and Mike had managed to unpack and sort out most of their stuff within weeks, Ray's piles seemed to keep growing.  Using the space more for a dumping ground for the boxes of stuff he bought off the internet when the garbage bins were full.  And then apparently, forgetting about them.   Nate made a mental note to break down the boxes and leave them on Ray's bed for him to deal with when he got back.  Nate used his foot to toe away yet another one of Ray's boxes when he finally found one of the few boxes of books that he stored up here.   Ones he felt he couldn't sell back, or ones that he'd bought off of the library's discard section that he was <i>sure</i> that would come in handy later on.</p>
<p>He sank down to his knees and opened the box carefully, taking out each one and looking at the spine before setting it back down gently.  There was a small part of him that thought it was silly to do it, it wasn't like they were rare books or anything.  Still, it was also going to make it more efficient to put them back the way he had them organized when he was done.  With an annoying grunt Nate realized that the book wasn't in this box. In fact, he was sure that it was supposed to be in there, and he checked one more time before putting them back confirming that yes, there was a space missing for the mythology book.  Once everything was back in place he stood up, shaking his stiff legs a bit and kicked at what he thought was another empty box.</p>
<p>"Shit!" he shouted as pain shot through his toes as he hopped on one leg for a moment sucking in air through his teeth.</p>
<p>"What'd that computer ever do to you?" a calm steady voice with a hint of amusement suddenly filled the room.</p>
<p>"Insulted my mother, clearly." Nate quipped back slowly lowering his foot back down onto the ground, testing it gingerly to make sure that he didn't actually break anything.  "What are you doing home? You and Tony should be half way to Eric's right now."  After assessing that it was just a normal throbbing of a stubbed toe and not something worse Nate turned to the voice behind him seeing Brad's slightly upturned smirk playing on the corner of his lips.</p>
<p>"Canceled, roads are getting too bad.  I tried, but apparently almost getting stuck in a ditch twice was too much for some people. So I dropped him off and headed back." Brad shrugged and finished climbing the folding ladder to get into the space.  "Better question. What are you doing up here?  Does it have anything to do with the living room being ransacked?" Nate noticed how Brad's shadows played against the far wall. He must have been up here longer than he thought.  Instead of actually responding to Brad's question he just tisked and shook his head a little, leaning against the wall slightly.</p>
<p>"Are there any road conditions that you would think are bad?" Nate deflected feeling slightly like the kid with his hand in the cookie jar.</p>
<p>"Possible IEDs." Braid replied thoughtfully after a moment. "And even then, that's what training and procedures are for, right?" they both knew there was more to it than that, anyone with common sense could draw that line.  But judging by Brad's tone of voice, he was just answering to be polite and he wasn't letting go of the previous topic. "You didn't answer the question. I thought the Goat Fucker was back early." Brad crossed the attic, eyes darting around as if trying to puzzle it out before Nate gave him an answer. "Almost ruined my night." </p>
<p>"Right." Nate started sarcastically. "Because you would hate playing video games all night with nowhere to be in the morning."</p>
<p>"Why do I get the feeling that your hiding something from me?" Always direct, something that most of the time, Nate very much appreciated. It made things a hell of a lot easier between them once they figured out how to talk, or not talk in a lot of cases, to each other.  "Is it porn?" his voiced dropped a bit. "Like the really freaky shit you don't put on your computer?"</p>
<p>That got Brad and eye roll and Nate started to move away from the wall only to find Brad right in his way.</p>
<p>"I was just looking for a book is all."</p>
<p>"A book."</p>
<p>"Yes a book. Something wrong with me wanting to read on break?"</p>
<p>"No. But it doesn't explain why the living room, and I suspect the bedroom, is ransacked." </p>
<p>"I couldn't find it."</p>
<p>"And you still haven't found it."</p>
<p>Nate sighed. "No. I've been looking for it all afternoon, and I have no idea where it went." he put his hands on his hips and gave one more glace around the room.<br/>"Wouldn't happen to be that ratty copy of those Greek myths, would it?" </p>
<p>Nate stared at Brad raising an eyebrow, and for a half second wondering if Brad actually was telepathic as some of the rumors Ray started were to believed.</p>
<p>"Yes?"  he replied still staring at Brad wondering where he was going with this. As direct as Brad could be, there was also a game of mental chess he tended to play in moments like these.  Something that Nate also usually appreciated. Though, right now, less so because he just wanted to get to the punch line already.</p>
<p>"I threw it out." Brad said calmly.</p>
<p>"What do you mean you threw it out?!" Nate cried out suddenly, surprised. That was so unlike Brad to just throw away someone's personal property like that.  Especially, something that he damn well knew Nate loved.</p>
<p>"Nate, it was old, falling apart and missing pages. I just-"</p>
<p>"That doesn't give you the right to-"</p>
<p>"If you'd just let me finish." it was really irritating sometimes how calm Brad could be. Nate huffed a little and crossed his arms over his chest. It was also irritating at how amused Brad looked at him right now. His stupid blue eyes laughing at him for probably acting a little childish right now. "I threw it out because I got you a new copy." Nate watched Brad's hand reach behind himself and pull out something from the waist band of his jeans.</p>
<p>"You did?" Nate asked as Brad put the book in his hands and rand his long fingers over the cover. It was still a used book, but still in much better condition than his last copy had been.  Brad must have searched the second hand book shop for a while to find this.</p>
<p>"Clearly." Brad ducked his head slightly to get into Nate's eye line forcing Nate to lift his head and look back at him.  "You were so stressed, I wanted to do something nice for you.  And you tend to go back to that book every time you try to unwind from a truly hellish semester." Nate had no idea Brad had noticed that. An interest in it, clearly, but not this particular book.  Hell, Nate didn't even realize he did that half the time, he just did it.  in truth, he stood there a little stunned there for a moment.</p>
<p>"Thank you." he said eventually, and then moved to hug the other man, feeling Brad's arms wrap around him starting to feel a little more relaxed than he had in a long while.<br/>"You're welcome." Brad said quietly after placing a soft kiss on the top of Nate's head.  Maybe it was time to start focusing other things, he thought.   "How about we make dinner and you tell me how wonderful I treat you?"  Nate didn't mind the teasing, he knew it was Brad's way of showing he cared. </p>
<p>"If you insist. I suppose I should probably eat something." they pulled apart, Nate flicked off the lights and followed Brad back down the ladder and folded it back up to the ceiling, when something occurred to him. "Why is there an old computer up there?" he asked following Brad towards the kitchen.</p>
<p>"Old computer, keeping it for spare parts," he paused and looked back and Nate with a mischievous grin. "and it's where I keep the really kinky porn."  Nate couldn't help but laugh and swat him on the arm feeling better than he had in months.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>